The quick skinny: guilty on 17 counts in full, guilty on 4 counts as amended. (Manning had agreed to plead guilty on 10 of the 22 counts filed against him.)

Minor miracle: NOT guilty on charges of "aiding the enemy" which was the only capital offense on the list. (Probably more because the government flat out refused to say who "the enemy" might be in Manning's case claiming it was "secret." That was a point which became ludicrously untenable for the prosecutors to make stick - for obvious reasons.)

Sentencing hearing is set for August 1st. The government has announced there is a long list of witnesses wishing to testify at the sentencing hearing.

A quick glance seems to indicate the maximum sentence for all 21 counts totals up to 85 years (less any allowance for time already served) if they're to be done sequentially. Informed legal observers are betting a 35 to 50 year sentence will ultimately be handed down.

Long time and beloved DC forum member Josh, who is a moderator, made a harsh post in this thread that he soon regretted, and he quickly deleted it along with a couple of brief replies to it from other members.

The deleted posts were uninteresting and unimportant, but moderators should not delete posts by people that are not spam. If anyone feels like they've posted something they regret, the solution is to edit your post and explain it -- and contact us or the people who have replied to ask that they modify their replies as well.

Never just delete discussions after they have taken place.

Josh meant no harm, but he has voluntarily stepped down from moderating the forum for the time being.]

That's why I said falls on his sword. Do you *really* think that *all* of those Romans weren't urged to kill themselves? What about coming into your office and finding a gun on the table.

I did like the one dig he got in, however:

Quote

"Those factors are clear to me now, through both self-refection[sic] during my confinement in various forms, and through the merits and sentencing testimony that I have seen here.

Another one that shows his level of depression, however:

Quote

In one line certain to upset those who believe Manning made a positive difference by leaking the documents, he said he now looks back at his decisions and wonders "how on earth could I, a junior analyst, possibly believe I could change the world for the better".

From Nuremberg to Manning, the US government/Justice Department just made the case in favor of the Nazis. "I was just following orders! I had no duty to report human rights crimes that I witnessed or was ordered to participate in."

Slow clap for the evil bastards. You can now rewrite the history books and explain how the world was wrong to oppose the Nazis. Manning's a hero, as is Snowden. That's the people's verdict, and always will be.

From Nuremberg to Manning, the US government/Justice Department just made the case in favor of the Nazis. "I was just following orders! I had no duty to report human rights crimes that I witnessed or was ordered to participate in."

Slow clap for the evil bastards. You can now rewrite the history books and explain how the world was wrong to oppose the Nazis. Manning's a hero, as is Snowden. That's the people's verdict, and always will be.

I wasn't aware Manning had been tortured. Can you point me to the details? BTW, "some of my best friends are Australians", from the years 'Razorback Railway', a great rail sim was programmed by Larry Lewis until it just got too frustrating and costly trying to work with 'Steam' et al :

I wasn't aware Manning had been tortured. Can you point me to the details? BTW, "some of my best friends are Australians", from the years 'Razorback Railway', a great rail sim was programmed by Larry Lewis until it just got too frustrating and costly trying to work with 'Steam' et al :

Really? I kind of thought that it was common knowledge. Lots of stories on it in the MSM and alternative media as well:

However, if you ask his captors, nothing they do is torture. They just define whatever they like as "not torture". I saw an interview with a former Navy Seal who was water boarded as part of his training, and was clear that water boarding is torture, which according to US "authorities", isn't. Go figure.

Manning's 'torture' sounds like a watered down version of Marine Corp training at Camp Pendleton in the day when volunteers had enough pride and self-discipline to want to tough it out instead of drowning in self-pity. The quoted sources are obviously biased.

They took away his glasses? Maybe because they can be used to commit suicide? The media would really revel in that.

Is Solitary Confinement torture? It also keeps other prisoners from getting to Manning. Might have helped him when you consider his waffling on what gender he is.

Manning's 'torture' sounds like a watered down version of Marine Corp training at Camp Pendleton in the day when volunteers had enough pride and self-discipline to want to tough it out instead of drowning in self-pity.

He was put in solitary, stripped naked, and woken up once an hour "to ensure his safety". Sleep deprivation will do very bizarre things to people. But I don't know much more than that.

Might have helped him when you consider his waffling on what gender he is.

I don't see how that would have anything to do with a bunch of grown men stuck around other grown men wanting to strip another grown man down buck naked, then throw him in a small, confined cell where they can watch him. Seems kind of perverse to me.

I think it's pretty hard to find unbiased sources. Reading through a broad cross-section of sources helps to get a better picture. e.g. Adding in Press TV and similar sources helps. AP and Reuters are pretty much clones of each other.

^ Yeah... we might want to calm that part of things down... it seems headed for basement territory. Some people view it as torture or unreasonable punishment, especially in light of the fact that he'd not been convicted of anything and this is the US. Some don't, and view it as just desserts of a traitor. Let's... leave it at that.

While I do think it's true that he indiscriminately released documents that would not fall under the whistleblower category... the one that would seems like it would have been enough to forgive for the others (if only partially).